Thursday, September 22, 2011

Nantucket in Autumn

Kicking off with Nantucket Restaurant Week (Sept. 26 - 29) and continuing with the Nantucket Maritime Festival and the Annual Arts Festival, fall in Nantucket is the place to be. Take one of the ferries from Cape Cod or a quick flight over to the island and step into a place filled with history, art and beautiful scenery.Restaurant week on Nantucket is one of the few destination restaurant weeks around. Participating restaurants will be offering special three course dinners for as low as $25. The special event of the week is the Junior Chef Nantucket Annual Culinary Competition. Hosted by NECN's "TV Diner" co-host Jenny Johnson island culinary students are paired with some of Nantucket's top chefs to create three course meals that highlight local ingredients.

The 9th Annual Cranberry Festival is Saturday October 8 at the Milestone Cranberry Bog. If you have never seen cranberries harvested, this is a great time to watch, learn and take some amazing photos. There are family activities, music, food, kids events, sheep herding demonstration, and everything cranberry for sale. The event is sponsored by the Nantucket Conservation Foundation.

The Nantucket Maritime Festival will be October 1 at Children's Beach and Brant Point. Family fun events on, around and near the water will fill the day, including boat races, shucking contests, music, and food (seafood will be offered of course). Admission is free!

The 11th Annual Harvest Fair is October 2 at the Old Mill and is sponsored by the Nantucket Historical Association. Highlights of the event include tours of the Old Mill, old fashioned games, a Harvest Fair photo booth, and a chance to make historical crafts such as pomanders and corn husk flowers. Food and fun for the whole family.

The Nantucket Arts Festival runs from September 30th to October 9th and is hosted by the Nantucket Arts Council. The information center for the festival will be at Preservation Hall on Centre Street, where you can pick up the festival's Art Passport that contains maps, event schedules and get stamps from each of the events participating non-profits so that the passport can be redeemed for a festival souvenir.